A Salley man was injured Tuesday when he tried to stop two men from stealing scrap metal from his yard, according to the Aiken County Sheriff's Office.
The incident happened about 2:30 p.m. at a home on Hollow Creek Road, according to a sheriff's report. The 63-year-old victim said he confronted two men who were loading scrap metal into a trailer on his property. The suspects told the man the scrap metal belonged to them, but the victim corrected them and said it was his, then had them unload the metal.
The suspects unloaded the metal and returned to their vehicle, at which point the victim said he would call the Sheriff's Office and tried to retrieve the vehicle's tag information, police said. He stepped between the vehicle and trailer, at which point one of the suspects started the vehicle and drove away.
"Victim stated he attempted to jump out of the listed trailer and was caught by the angle iron from the top rail of the trailer and knocked to the ground," the report states. "Victim stated his right foot slipped under a tire of the trailer and was run over."
EMS responded but did not transport the victim. A witness told police she saw the incident and followed the vehicle into Orangeburg County, but was unable to get the tag information.
One suspect is described as a black male about 5-foot-10 and 275 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He is between 25 and 30 years old was wearing a red jersey-type shirt.
The second suspect is described as a black male about 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He is between 25 and 30 years old and was wearing a dark colored shirt.
Teddy Kulmala covers the crime and courts beat for the Aiken Standard and has been with the newspaper since August 2012. He is a native of Williston and majored in communication studies at Clemson University.